Melissa McCarthy’s relationship with Barbra Streisand began years before the singer made headlines for asking whether she took Ozempic.
Streisand raised eyebrows in April 2024 when she commented on McCarthy’s Instagram post and inquired about the weight-loss drug. “Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?” Streisand wrote in a since-deleted comment on a pic of McCarthy and Adam Shankman.
After the remark stirred up controversy, Streisand claimed she “forgot the world is reading.” McCarthy, for her part, came to her pal’s defense, telling TMZ, “I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her.”
The pair first met when they collaborated on a rendition of “Anything You Can Do” from Annie Get Your Gun, which was featured on Streisand’s 2016 album, Encore. “She’s really funny,” McCarthy told Entertainment Weekly in June 2023 of Streisand.
Keep scrolling to take a look back at McCarthy and Streisand’s quotes about each other through the years:
2024
McCarthy uploaded a pic with Shankman via Instagram in April 2024, writing, “Pastels only to honor the incredible @matthewbourne13 at the @ctgla gala last night with this fella @adamshankman!! Thiiiiis much closer to my dream of dancing on stage 💃🏻💚🩷.”
Streisand took to the comments section to ask, “Give him my regards did you take Ozempic?” She quickly deleted the comment, which led to speculation that she intended to send the message to McCarthy privately.
Streisand subsequently took to Instagram to clear up the controversy, writing, “OMG — I went on Instagram to see the photos we’d posted of the beautiful flowers I’d received for my birthday! Below them was a photo of my friend Melissa McCarthy who I sang with on my Encore album. She looked fantastic! I just wanted to pay her a compliment. I forgot the world is reading.”
Amid the drama, McCarthy gushed to TMZ about her relationship with Streisand. “I think Barbra is a treasure and I love her,” she told the outlet.
Barbra Streisand has captivated the stage, screen and world with her acclaimed career and one-of-a-kind vocals. Streisand landed her big break at age 19 in 1962, scoring the role of Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It for You Wholesale on Broadway. Two years later, she originated the role of Fanny Brice in the stage production of Funny […]
2023
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly in June 2023, McCarthy recalled the first time she met Streisand.
“I thought she would be like, ‘I’m Barbra Streisand,’” McCarthy said while imitating a dignified greeting. “And I thought, ‘You deserve to do that.’ And that’s what I almost wanted. And then, I think when she opened the door she had leggings on and lunch meat in her hand. And I was like, none of this is what I expected.”
McCarthy admitted she felt jitters before coming face to face with Streisand. “Super nervous, but she’s so who she is … Someone who you think you could be curtseying to, keeps eating lunch meat, it really kind of levels the playing field,” McCarthy joked. “It was really charming. I was like, ‘You’re really pounding lunch meat.’ She’s like, ‘Yeah.’”
2021
McCarthy recalled thinking she was being pranked when she got a call to be featured on Encore.
“My manager called and he’s like, ‘Barbra Streisand wants to do a duet with you.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I think that’s rude. I don’t know who’s punking me,’” she said during an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show in September 2021. “Meeting her was kind of surreal.”
McCarthy noted that her experience with Streisand was collaborative. “The fact that even at that level she’s still like, ‘Let’s work it out.’ To me, that’s just the coolest part.”
2020
After realizing Streisand’s request to duet on Encore was real, McCarthy knew there was only one right answer.
“Even if I tank it, I have to just be in the same room as her and for the experience,” McCarthy recalled on Watch What Happens Live in December 2020. “I lost my pride so many years ago, that I thought, ‘Why not?’”
2016
The duo collaborated on a rendition of “Anything You Can Do” from Annie Get Your Gun, which was featured on Streisand’s 2016 album, Encore. In the tune, the duo joked about being friends and their age gap.
“You’ll be great as my mom,” McCarthy sang, while Streisand interjected, “Your mom? Don’t you mean sister?”
As the track came to a close, McCarthy asked whether she could call Streisand an affectionate nickname of “Babs.” Streisand quipped, “No. Too soon.”
After the twosome recorded together, Streisand told Entertainment Tonight, “She was delightful! Just so funny.”
